Panto slammed for 'ugly sisters' jibe

A pantomime has been criticised after naming the two ugly sisters after princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

The performance of Cinderella at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, Kent was criticised for featuring two male actors dressed up as the ugly sisters.
Theatre-goers complained it was a "cheap joke" to call the sisters after the Duke of York's two daughters.
One critic, Bob Britnell, a senior planning officer for Canterbury City Council, said the two daughters of Sarah, Duchess of York should "not be mocked".
He said: "Looking at their photos, they don't seem ugly, just two pretty, ordinary girls who get on with their lives without courting celebrity, so why mock them?
"Sadly there are plenty of people out there willing to mock others for no good reason.
"What a shame our pantomime has added to them. Shame on the producers and shame on the theatre for not intervening."
But producer Paul Hendy, who also wrote and directed the show, denied it was a slur on the Royal princesses.
"The sisters are indeed called Beatrice and Eugenie but the term 'ugly sisters' is never actually used in relation to the names and we never refer to the Royal family at any point," he said.
"I do hope people will come to see for themselves that the Beatrice and Eugenie joke is a very small part of the show and is in no way offensive."